Queen's: Kyle Edmund loses to Stefanos Tsitsipas in first round
- Published
Match point: Edmund loses in straight sets against Tsitsipas
Britain's Kyle Edmund was knocked out of Queen's 6-3 7-5 in the first round by Greek top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Trailing 6-3 3-3 when bad weather ended play on Wednesday, Edmund was unable to turn the match around on Thursday as British interest in the singles ended.
Edmund, 24, saved six match points before the 20-year-old Greek clinched victory with a backhand down the line.
Tsitsipas returned later to beat Jeremy Chardy 4-6 7-6 (7-0) 7-6 (7-4) and secure his place in the quarter-finals.
He will face eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime after the 18-year-old Canadian ended the challenge of Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-4 and controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) 7-5.
Three first-round singles matches had to be completed at the start of play on Thursday after Tuesday's play was washed out and only a handful of matches were completed on Wednesday.
But the highlight on day four was the return of Andy Murray after five months out following a hip operation.
He teamed up with Spain's Feliciano Lopez to beat top doubles seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in straight sets.
Tsitsipas punishes Edmund
Edmund was making his competitive return after retiring from the French Open with a knee injury earlier this month.
The Yorkshireman did not look his sharpest in the first set on Wednesday as he struggled to cope with Tsitsipas' power and precision.
Flashes of sunshine greeted them when they returned on Thursday lunchtime as Edmund looked to make a quick start.
The world number 30 was unable to convert a break point in the seventh game and it proved costly when Tsitsipas took his seventh match point, but only after a Hawk-Eye replay showed his backhand had just clipped the line.
Champion Cilic and second seed Anderson beaten
Schwartzman pulled off a remarkable victory against big-serving Cilic
Croatia's defending champion and fifth seed Marin Cilic was a surprise second-round casualty, losing 6-4 6-4 to Queen's Club debutant Diego Schwartzman.
Argentine Schwartzman, 26, secured early breaks in both sets to wrap up only his third career win on grass.
Second seed Kevin Anderson, who beat Britain's Cameron Norrie in round one, lost in three sets to France's Gilles Simon.
The big-serving 33-year-old South African - last year's Wimbledon runner-up - has missed most of the season because of an elbow injury and his rustiness told as Simon ran out a 6-1 4-6 6-4 winner.
Mahut hits ball girl with practice serve
Qualifier Nicolas Mahut joined in the giant-killing act by knocking out seventh seed Stan Wawrinka 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-2).
But the world number 191 was given a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct after leaving a ball girl in tears when he struck her with a ball.
The 37-year-old had just dropped serve early on and decided to send down a practice delivery that hit the ball girl on the head.
It was clearly accidental but followed another Mahut incident two days ago when he skidded over chasing a wide ball and ploughed into another unfortunate ball girl.
Mahut will face fellow Frenchman Simon in the last eight.
- Published19 June 2019
